SHIVAMOGGA: The killing of three domestic animals reportedly by tigers at Umblebailu village, close to Bhadra Tiger Reserve, has triggered panic among villagers even as the forest department has decided to lay a trap to catch the big cats. It is in the same village where two tigers were allegedly poisoned in December 2016.
The tiger reportedly killed two cows and a buffalo at the village in the last one week. It is suspected that the tiger entered the village from the tiger reserve. The incident occurred at the proposed buffer zone of the tiger reserve. Villagers say tigers continue to prowl in farms and nearby forest.
“We do not know the exact number of tigers in the area. But, many are entering the village. On Monday, a villager spotted a tiger. People are afraid to go to their farms. Forest officials keep promising compensation for the loss of cattle but hardly release the money. The department should trap the tigers or chase them away,” Anil Naik, a villager of Umblebailu told TNIE.
In 2016, two tigers were allegedly poisoned after videos of the animals went viral on social media. Panicked, the villagers allegedly poisoned cattle carcass, thereby killing tigers that ate it.
However, villagers refuted the allegations that they poisoned the carcasses to kill tigers. With the killing incident still haunting the minds of wildlife activists, they urged the forest department to not take a chance this time.
Wildlife activist Ajay Kumar Sharma said the spotting of the tiger in the proposed buffer zone of the tiger reserve stresses the need to include the villages around the reserve in the buffer zone. Chief conservator of forest Sreenivasulu said he has asked the deputy conservator of forest to take measures to prevent any untoward incident. “We will also trap the tiger. Besides, compensation will also be given to owners of domestic animals mauled by the tiger,” he said.